Obama to Troops

Bend over–again. You guys and your families need to sacrifice more pay and benefits while I go golfing with my cronies. Be sure to pay your taxes before I send you into harm’s way again. We can’t waste it on your insignificant widows and orphans when there are incompetent executives who still lack gold bathroom fixtures. Priorities, people! Priorities!

It is a testament to the honor of our troops that nobody has yet started talking about a coup against the worthless, vile swine who are our ruling class. These people are only flesh and blood. You can only abuse them so long.

Surely the notion, “Pay the people with guns,” is not so very strange?

Stu

Hagel is the worst SECDEF since Les Aspin.

Elmwood

Mark, do you really think the “troops” don’t get awesome benefits? They have the worlds most socialized medical plan and get money for housing on top of generous salaries. They also get tuition and housing benefits for going back to school. This is unheard of in the private sector.

I served in the military and did it out of service, not for the benefits. They were more than adequate and today are even better than when I was in a decade ago. Many of the young people in the military would end up working in Walmart or Denny’s based on their qualifications. If we need to cut down the size of government, it should be fair and spread out. I think this should definitively include the military who can retire as early as 37 with 50% of their salary for the rest of their lives.

Funny, Jesus tells the troops to not complain about compensation and benefits.

14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” Luke 3:14

Marthe Lépine

Excellent use of out-of-context Bible quote in order to protect the wealth of the “industrial” part of the military-industrial entitlement protection crowd.

Elmwood

thanks, it was quite out of context if i say so myself.

capaxdei

Calling them the words of Jesus was a bit much, though.

Elmwood

regardless of how inappropriate it was to quote the bible, two things are for certain: as public education is sacred to the left, “support the troops” sloganeering is sacred to the right. Any criticism of “support the troops” will be squashed without mercy.

capaxdei

Er, quite, but you quoted John the Baptist.

Elmwood

Please, please! Let’s not bicker and argue about who said what, but let’s agree that war is bad and we should avoid it and do so without “support the troops” sloganeering.

Stu

Why? What is the purpose of “Support the Troops?”

Elmwood

Support the Troops is basically a nationalistic slogan to subdue critical thought about our industrial military complex. I find it odd how people can criticize the police but not the military. Do we really need all those bases overseas or those military resorts like in Hawaii?

No, it isn’t. It was rooted in the belief that no matter how you feel about a certain military action, you don’t blame the troops for the lawful orders given them by the Commander-n-Chief.

As to Ron Paul, if he supported Hagel then it was foolish. And nowhere have I said that excess and abuse only plagues the civilian side of the military industrial complex.

Elmwood

I don’t know much about Hagel, just pointing out that he was seen by some conservatives as a lesser of evils (at least it isn’t Rumsfeld or William Kristol).

There are literally 100’s of US military bases in Europe. A first easy step in fiscal sanity is to close 95% of them. The military is for legitimate national defense, not for empire (international corporation) building.

Stu

Marthe,

We don’t agree much but we do here. Hagel is all too happy to sacrifice the troops for some very questionable acquisition projects.

Putnam

Mark, What do you mean by “bend over-again”? The meaning is not obvious to me.

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